Russell careens 9.5%; TFCO, BBX and RMCF lead gainers

The Russell 2000 careened at closing Wednesday, plummeting 9.5%, or the second-lowest close in five years. The dramatic close was due to dreadful retail sales, a cautious tone from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the “beige book” report on the economy that showed activity weakening across the United States. The Russell 2000 is now down 34% for the year, while the Dow is off 35% and the S&P 500 is down 38%. Small-cap gainers today include Tufco Technologies (Nasdaq:TFCO), BankAtlantic (NYSE:BBX) and Rocky Mountain Chocolate (Nasdaq:RMCF). Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Commodity Research Bureau Index of 19 physical markets got hammered again today, losing nearly 4.5% while sinking to the lowest level since February 2005.
• Copper prices shed some 8% today.
• The retail sales report out today marked the third consecutive negative reading for retail sales — something that has not happened in some 17 years.
• Today’s freefall represented the largest one-day decline of the year for small caps, just two days after the market put together the biggest one-day advance of 2008.
• Crude drops 5% today, settling under $75 for the first time since Sept. 2007.
• The NY Manufacturing Survey is down 24.6% to the lowest reading in some seven years, adding to the bleak tone from the retail sales figure.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Tufco Technologies (Nasdaq:TFCO) doubles stock buyback program to 200,000 shares; stock soars 40%.
• BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BBX) up 16% as regional banks . . .

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